Sol Melia Cuba: Invest On This Hotel.

Reviewed 9 April 2007

We traveled to Cuba and stayed at the Tryp at the beginning of our trip, March 20-22 and at the end, April 2-3. The rooms are spacious and the views (especially ocean view) are increible.

Having said this, I sould maybe summarize my review saying: SOL MELIA CUBA MANAGEMENT: PLEASE INVEST MONEY ON THIS HOTEL. Regretfully, this Spanish company is making money but not investing on the property.

Although rooms are spacious and views are amazing, the rest is forgettable. When you arrive, the check in area is full of people. A huge upset: the lobby was packed with people, too many of them not hotel guests. We didn’t like this at all, there are security guards but the significant number of non hotel guests at the lobby was noticeable. Elevators. bad. You must wait at least 8-10 minutes (yes. 10 minutes!!) togo up or down. There are 6 elevators, only 4 are working: hotel has 25 floors, more than 30 rooms per floor, imagine. Once in the room, you find a complementary bottle of water, additional bottles cost 3 CUC(Cuban Convertible). Note that you are strongly advised to drink only bottled water, follow this advice. The matresses need to be changed, furniture is either broken or badly worn out. Bathrooms are spacious but during our stays -both- the toilette didn’t flush properly due to low water pressure. Mantenance came right away when we called, but couldn’t fix the problem. If you need the safety box, be prepared to pay 3 CUC per day.

Breakfast was another oddyssey. Coffee machines (instant coffee) didn’t workm so they solved the issue serving it in a huge aluminum container that didn’t keep it hot; there were always long lines to get coffee when available. The food offered was second (if not third) category (especially cold cuts such as ham and turkey). We decided to eat all other meals outside the hotel, better and cheaper.

The pool was very nice, no towel service and a bar only inside the hotel.

Overall, I must conclude that the Tryp Habana Libre is a highly overrated 5 stars hotel, 3 stars would suit better. I insist in calling upon the Sol Meliá Cuba management to invest money on this historical building, Habana Hilton for only 9 months until January 1959, when the Revolution entered La Habana and took over the hotel as its headquarters. It’s a real shame that what could be a wonderful hotel is kept in such poor condition.